Definition

Noun: A junkyard is a piece of land or a commercial site where discarded or unwanted items, especially old vehicles and machinery, are collected, stored, and often dismantled for parts or materials to be resold or recycled.

Usage

A junkyard is typically a place of business. It is where people might take old cars, appliances, or scrap metal. Items in a junkyard are often sorted, and valuable parts or materials are salvaged.

Examples

• Noun:
  • We took the broken washing machine to the local junkyard.
  • The old car sat rusting in the junkyard for years.
  • He found a replacement door for his vintage truck at a junkyard.

Advanced Usage

• "junkyard dog": This is a common idiom referring to a fierce guard dog that protects a junkyard. It symbolizes something or someone that is aggressively protective.
  • The security guard was like a junkyard dog, fiercely loyal to the property.

Variants and Related Words

• Scrapyard (n): A very close synonym, often used interchangeably with "junkyard," though it may emphasize metal scrap more.
  • The scrapyard paid cash for the old copper pipes.
• Salvage yard (n): Another synonym, highlighting the aspect of recovering and reusing valuable parts.
  • The salvage yard specializes in antique car parts.

Synonyms

• Auto wrecking yard: Specifically for vehicles.
• Scrap heap: A pile of discarded items; can be more general or metaphorical.
• Dump: A more general term for a place where trash is left, but it lacks the specific commercial/resale aspect of a junkyard.

Related Idioms

• Junkyard dog: As mentioned above, a metaphor for a very tough, aggressive, and protective person or animal.
  • Don't mess with him; he's a real junkyard dog when it comes to his family.

Noun

1. a field where junk is collected and stored for resale